The greatest chef in the world... possibly
Monday, August 13
Villefranche This is a lovely place, but it’s another transit site – empty at 10am, bustling with new arrivals at 5pm. It wouldn’t be so bad but they cause queues at the solitary shower block and clog the rubbish bin up with their detritus instead of taking it the 50m to the recycling skips. Honestly! Still, it’s extremely handy for just about everything and we end up spending the full week here, taking advantage of all the delights round about. On Monday we think about taking the train to Lyon but can’t get up in time to make a day of it. So, we make a much more determined effort on Tuesday and cycle the two miles or so to the station to find we’ve made a schoolboy error in not checking the timetables and this late in the day (it’s about 11.30) trains to Lyon are only every hour and the next one is 12.20. Suitably chastened, we buy our tickets (about €14 each for a return), cross the road for a coffee at a nearby cafe and then catch the swish SNCF. Within half an hour we’re in Lyon. Like most cities, the area around the station is a bit of a dump and we struggle to get our bearings. There doesn’t seem to be a TIC round about, like there should be, so we wander into a hotel where the very helpful receptionist gives us a map and points us to the tramlines across the road. We buy a day ticket (about €5 each) which gives us unlimited travel on the metro, trams and buses, and head for the Musé de la Confluence, a Valencia-style futuristic building which grandly promises to tell the story of life on Earth. We pass on the chance, walk around the building and then get back on a tram and head for the renowned Notre Dame cathedral in Lyon’s old quarter. Via the tram and a funicular, we emerge at the top of a headland which gives fantastic views over the city and access to the church, one of the most ornate Catholic churches we’ve seen on the whole trip – beautiful mosaics throughout and a wonderful astronomical clock which strikes on the hour and features dancing automata. Suitably blessed, we then take a long stroll through Lyon’s ancient quarter which features a plethora of traditional restaurants and bars, plus some amazing ice cream parlours which all help to make the city the food capital of France. We’re on a budget, though, as we keep telling ourselves and the best we can manage is a couple of very fancy lollies which help to keep us cool in the 30° heat. Like a lot of Europe’s grander cities, we realise that Lyon is a place best seen at night, impossible while we’re parked 40 or so miles away. Another day maybe. Wednesday, August 15 Villefranche As we wind down our days here, we take the chance to have a sunbathing session in the lake-park which adjoins the aire. We last about an hour before the late afternoon heat overcomes us and we retreat back to the van to prepare for our ‘Salsa night’ at our new favourite restaurant – the crazy golf bistro. It’s Assumption Day and most shops are shut on this French bank holiday. To mark the occasion, the bistro wants everyone to come in white so we oblige. When we arrive we’re the second couple there and that remains the sum total for at least the first hour, so the couple who run the bar get in their car to drive around the area to drum up some trade. We can’t help thinking that they should have done this days or weeks ago as they hadn’t even put a poster up at the aire next door! Nevertheless, it’s a nice evening. For €15 each, we get a Mojito cocktail, a flowery garland and a big bowl of paella that the excellent chef knocks up in a couple of giant pans. But the dancing never materialises, thankfully, and after a couple of cocktails and the food, we slope off. Well, we’ve got a big day ahead of us in the morning. Thursday, August 16 Camping municipal, St Valliere The municipals in this part of France are proving to be a real boon for the hard-up full-time motorhomer and we hit it lucky again in this plain and simple site on the banks of the Rhône. On the edge of a nice little town, and with a couple of good supermarkets at either end, it has good showers, toilets etc. and, crucially, a washing machine which we use to do a couple of loads, instantly getting rid of the shocking smell coming from the garage. It’s also just €13 a night. Over the course of four days, about as long as we could manage, we explore the area on our bikes but find the town in shutdown mode, thanks to a mixture of store closures for the annual ‘conge’ or just going out of business (thanks Aldi and Intermarché). Cycling north and south along the river brings us to a couple of picturesque villages but nothing to make the heart pitter-patter. We both feel that the huge Rhône cruise ships which pass the campsite every day probably get the impression that St. Vallier is a lovely riverfront town. In fact, like so many in France, it’s dying a slow death. Even the campsite, with its lovely location, excellent rates, good facilities and the wonderful cycle path right outside the door, is barely half full. Such a shame. Monday, August 20 Camping Municipal Loretta, Le Poet Laval, Drôme Another 60 or 70 miles, through lovely, quite hilly countryside, brings us to this campsite just east of Montelimar. The trip, in glorious sunshine and through some beautiful villages, indicates that we’re really heading into the south of France, as opposed to just southern France. The rural houses all have that slightly shabby chic look about them, there are pools in the gardens, terracotta tiles on the roofs and the supermarkets are full of the beautiful people and their beautiful children, all buying expensive wines and inflatables. We land here in Le Poët Laval after first checking out the campsite in the neighbouring town but it’s a nightmare to get in and around, thanks to the overhanging trees. In Le Poet Laval, however, the site is much better, better situated, with a nice pool, a charming manageress, good loos and with an interesting old version of the village in the hills just above the newer, more functional version. We pitch up next to an English van and later meet its occupants, Dave and Anne, who are full-timing and blogging just like us (homeonwheels.co.uk). Over drinks on Monday night, we have the usual life-swapping session and resolve to head into the village on Tuesday to check out the only restaurant, the wonderfully named Tous Les Matins du Monde (it’s the title of a Gerard Depardieu film apparently). |
From top, the chef at the Crazy Golf bistro with his pan of paella; a view of the lake and bathing beach at Villefranche; six views of Lyon; St Vallier, and Lyon as seen from the Notre Dame cathedral
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